Hyderabad: Six rice traders have been booked by Saroornagar police for alleged hoarding after Civil Supplies officials uncovered large quantities of rice, including Public Distribution System (PDS) stock, stored in godowns behind retail outlets.
The action followed inspections of 20 wholesale rice outlets by the Civil Supplies Department. Officials reportedly found that some traders operated shops at the front of their premises while storing substantial quantities of rice in warehouses at the rear. The total quantity of seized stock is still being assessed.
According to The Times of India, K Ram Kumar, a superintendent of police-rank officer attached to the department, said hundreds of quintals of rice had been found hoarded. He added that the seized stock would be released into the market shortly.
Officials alleged that traders had formed a syndicate and artificially increased prices by restricting the availability of rice. Laboratory tests conducted at the department's in-house facility confirmed that part of the seized stock was PDS rice.
Karmanghat Rice Depot Raids
The latest action follows raids conducted by Civil Supplies officials at rice depots in Karmanghat on Thursday, October 29.
According to Siasat.com, a video shared online showed a miller telling officials that a suspected racket was selling polished ration rice as fine-quality rice for prices ranging from Rs 80 to Rs 100 per kilogram.
Officials collected rice samples for laboratory testing. A Saroornagar police official said a case would be registered based on a complaint from the Civil Supplies Department.
Rice Mills Under Investigation
Investigators are also examining the role of rice mill owners among the accused traders. Officials suspect that some mills may have been used to divert PDS rice into the open market.
According to department officials, certain mills had earlier been found without stock despite receiving paddy under the custom-milling process. Under this arrangement, millers are expected to return 65 per cent of the supplied paddy as rice to the government.
Officials suspect that the missing rice may have been diverted for commercial sale.
Earlier, raids across 15 districts since July 20 reportedly identified around 50 rice mills that had neither maintained the expected stock nor returned custom-milled rice to the government. Officials described the alleged irregularities as part of a Rs 500 crore paddy scam.
No Arrests So Far
Apart from the hoarding cases, authorities have also registered cases against other traders over alleged GST violations and misrepresentation of rice quantities to customers.
No arrests have been made in the present case so far. Saroornagar police are continuing their investigation into the alleged hoarding and diversion of PDS rice.
